The Coming Storm
by Littleotter73
Summary: Part I of the Storm Series. As the Scoobies take time to recover before deciding what's next, Buffy receives a surprising phone call that threatens the future she has started to envision for herself and her family.


**Title:** The Coming Storm

 **Author:** littleotter73

 **Characters:** Giles, Buffy

 **Rating:** FRT

 **Setting:** Post Chosen, about a month after the destruction of Sunnydale

 **Summary:** As the Scoobies take time to recover before deciding what's next, Buffy receives a surprising phone call that threatens the future she has started to envision for herself and her family.

 **Word Count:** 4300+

 **Beta:** Many thanks to il_mio_capitano

 **Disclaimer:** Just for fun, not profit

 **Author's Note:** Written for Summer of Giles 2018

The Coming Storm

The breeze blows through the open windows, billowing the gauze curtains, and the sound of the surf rolling in along the shore barely gets a mention after a fortnight. It's background noise, but it still catches Giles off guard occasionally, especially when the rest of the gang are quiet. He's still not comfortable with what had transpired before the destruction of Sunnydale, and it's fairly clear that the rest of the Scoobies are having difficulty reconciling after the stress of the last two years. They've all changed dramatically and it seems they've not come to terms with those changes in the others.

He sits in his chair by the window watching Willow, Xander, and Dawn play _Settlers of Catan_ at the dining room table while Buffy lounges on the sofa reading one of the romance novels the owners of the house have left for their guests. She's been quiet and contemplative and he's not wanted to disturb her, besides, he's not felt at ease around her. There is still so much they need to talk about and work through, but it's clear that neither of them are ready.

Part of him feels like they should just hash it out, lance the festering wound, and get it over with, but the everything is still so raw. It's only been a month since they closed the Hellmouth and two and a half weeks since they'd said goodbye to Faith and Robin and the newly minted Slayers. No one seems ready to address the issues that had them all at odds for so long. They are getting along and that seems like enough for now.

He's not sure how long they will all stay at the beach house, but he's rented it for two months with the option for a third should they need or want it. He guesses one or more of them might clear out before the end of the first month. One of them might be him. It's hard for him to sit still when there is so much to be done, but he's determined to try and repair their broken relationships. He knows their bonds are strong, but they _all_ need time heal and he's doing all he can to keep the communication lines open. He loves them all dearly and he's loathe to let things remain as they have been.

His relationship with Dawn is the easiest and she seems eager for everyone to reconnect. She needs stability and she desperately wants them all to be a family again. She's trying too hard, but everyone is doing their best to not get too irritated with the girl's efforts. Giles spends hours with her when the others go off for walks along the beach. Dawn is an outsider and he feels very much the same these days. He knows all of Dawn's fears, the most pressing is that they all go their own ways and she will be left again with missing loved ones… not permanently, but she fears they will lose touch. He wants to reassure her, but they are his fears too and he has promised that he will do his best to fix the rift between them all.

That's why he'd rented the beach house, south of Big Sur isolated on a cliff off of Highway 1 with a path leading down to a secluded beach. There are five bedrooms, affording each person their privacy, a great common area off the kitchen, three bathrooms, an office, and a smaller, more intimate den. There is also a jacuzzi with a view overlooking the ocean that everyone seems to love, and a couple sea kayaks moored down on the beach, one of which Giles has taken out more than a few times since their arrival.

Xander groans loudly and complains about something having to do with the game. He's frustrated and Dawn and Willow are smug. He tosses down his cards and says he's going to get a beer and asks if he can get anyone else anything. Dawn stands up and follows him to the kitchen. Xander seems to be the most lost. As friends, lovers, or estranged partners, Anya had grounded Xander. He's trying to find his own footing without her and Giles can see he's struggling, but it's clear he doesn't want help. He doesn't want pity. Giles monitors Xander's alcohol intake, knowing his friend's family history. Xander seems to know it well enough too. He sticks to one beer in the evening. The rest of the day he drinks water. He's thrown himself into a healthy regimen of early morning runs along the beach and walks later in the day, whenever someone else in the group wants to take them.

Giles notices how Willow monitors Xander as well. He knows just how worried she is for her best friend. Out of all of them, Willow seems the most sure of herself. He'd approached her the evening after the activation spell to talk about it since he'd known she'd been worried about going dark, but what Willow had found in the wake of the spell had been the opposite. All the things she'd been taught at the Coven about how everything in life is interconnected, she'd experienced first hand. It had been humbling, and she felt more sure of herself and her place in the world. He knows of her plans to return to the Coven to continue her studies and share her experience with the white magicks. She may be the first to leave the cottage, but not without some assurance that Xander is finding his way. The two of them share a lifelong friendship that no one in the group can come between. He envies them as his eyes fall to Buffy.

Not surprisingly, Buffy is still the most isolated. She interacts with her sister and her friends, and occasionally with him - mostly to discuss future Slayer matters - but she goes off for hours at a time on her own. He's found her on the beach a few times just watching the waves come in or taking in a sunset. In the evenings after dinner, though she's content to sit in the common room in the evening with everyone, she doesn't engage unless she is directly spoken to, choosing instead to read a book or a magazine. He's been tempted to join her on the beach and sit with her, but she is processing and needs time, so he leaves her be. He just hopes he is reading her right. Lord knows he's made so many mistakes where she's been concerned over the last two years - and that is his biggest fear, that he's already lost her friendship and trust forever. A simple head nod and reassurance that she wanted his opinion wasn't a reconciliation between them, it was a half-hearted attempt at forgiveness on the eve of a battle no one believed they'd live through.

Dawn and Xander return from the kitchen with drinks and a big bowl of cheese puffs. They both love to tease Willow and Buffy with obscenely bright orange colored fingers. He expects it to be the same this evening. There will be a chase and a large mess to clean up in the morning as cheese puffs and game pieces are thrown across the room, but he doesn't mind because laughter will fill the house and Buffy's smile will lighten the weight of concerns he is carrying on his shoulders… at least for a little while.

Xander places a bottle of beer on the table next to Giles. "Thought you could use one too. You look like you're really taxing that brain tonight."

Giles gives him a gentle smile. "Thank you," he says, lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a swig. His eyes meet Buffy's as he places the beer back down on the table and she nods in acknowledgement. He answers it with a slight nod of his own before she returns to her reading. Willow, Dawn, and Xander resume their game as Dawn and Xander's hands dive for cheese puffs in the competitive manner of the game _Hungry Hungry Hippos_ he used to play with Dawn when he'd first met her as a nine-year-old. It's only a matter of time before their fingers are sticky and orange enough to harass others with.

He gets up from his chair and heads over to the bookshelf. He's already perused it several times thoroughly, looking for something to read and finding nothing of interest, but there is always the hope that he might have overlooked something fairly entertaining. He'll have to stop at the small book shop the next time they run into town for supplies.

Movement catches his eye as Buffy shifts on the couch, her brow furrowing as she puts her book down and digs into the pocket of her sweatpants to pull out the vibrating mobile phone. She stares at the screen for a moment and mumbles, "LA," before answering the call. "Buffy," she says with an air of annoyance, but then her demeanor changes, her eyes widening in surprise as she stands up and heads for the door, obviously wanting to hold the conversation in private.

Giles can't help but watch through the window as Buffy paces along the pathway that leads to down to the beach while speaking animatedly on the phone. He's not sure who is on the other end of the line, but he ventures a guess that it is Angel. She's either angry or frustrated as she gesticulates wildly with her left arm.

Turning his attention back to the other three, he sees that the game is no longer of interest to the trio as Dawn's attention is also focussed out the window. Willow begins to tidy up as Xander puts away the game pieces, each glancing at the other and then towards Dawn.

"Right," Giles says as he stands up, but he has no idea what else to say.

"What do you think all that's about?" Dawn asks as she wraps her arms around her torso in the same manner her sister does when she is worried.

"I haven't the foggiest," Giles answers, placing a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. "Angel, I would imagine."

"I wish he would just leave her alone," Dawn complains bitterly.

Giles silently agrees. Over the years, Angel has routinely stepped into Buffy's life without regard for her feelings or wishes whilst steadfastly refusing to allow her into his. It's unfair and it makes Giles furious for her.

Dawn turns abruptly, shoving his hand away. "I'm going to read before bed," she announces before quickly making her way towards her room and slamming the door.

Finishing his bottle of beer, Giles starts towards the kitchen to place it in the recycling bin, but Xander takes it from him.

"I've got that, big guy, why don't you go check on the Buffster. It looks like she is done with that call and heading down to the beach."

"I am sure she'd rather be alone," Giles replies, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

"I kinda doubt that."

"She'd have come back in if she wanted company."

"She doesn't want an audience, Giles, and that's what she'd have if she came back in," Xander states as he points out the obvious. "Look, you've been watching her all evening. Something's on your mind and lately she's kind of been… I dunno, even more distant than before. Now she's clearly upset about something. I think she needs someone to talk to and that someone should be you. Go to her."

Giles rubs the back of his neck with his left hand. He's conflicted. Finally he asks, "And Dawn?"

"I'll talk to her," Xander answers as he starts for the kitchen.

"Thank you."

"No problem, but Giles?" he says as he stops and turns back. "We need to decide what's next. The lack of plans is starting to result in some major anxiety."

"I know," Giles answers with a sigh. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to think about that for a while."

"But it's on your mind constantly. Don't deny it. After seven years, I know that look you get. And if it's on your mind, it's on Buffy's mind because you guys are weirdly linked like that. And when you guys are thinking it, the rest of us can't help thinking about it and obsessing over it, especially Dawn whose life has pretty much revolved around upheaval since she was really young or since she was created… you choose how to interpret that. So maybe to solve the immediate problem, we have to talk about future plans and what each of us wants to do," Xander advises with precision insight.

Giles nods. "What do you want?"

"Eh," Xander shrugs. "To be honest, I am still having a hard time processing everything. I"m good with whatever is decided… unless it's to go our own ways, and then I'll have to figure out who I'm following, but I'd rather not have to make a decision like that."

Giles sincerely hopes that is not the decision either. He's been separated from his family for far too long, physically and emotionally. "You're always welcome at mine," he replies sincerely and Xander gives him an appreciative grin before heading into the kitchen.

It's summer, but the evenings are cool along the coast and Giles dons his leather jacket as he heads out the door. The breeze coming in off the ocean is more prominent and the surf sounds a bit rougher than previous nights and he wonders if there is a storm coming. The weather in California has been a bit mercurial since the destruction of Sunnydale. Of course, apocalypses have always affected the weather and he's not surprised that the effect would be more widespread considering the scale of destruction and the overarching threat the First Evil had cast on the world. It's certainly not something he prefers to investigate further. He is still mentally and emotionally exhausted, and it could, afterall, just be a generic storm coming in over the ocean.

Buffy sits in the sand a few feet above the waterline, forearms on her knees, and her phone still held firmly in her hand. Despite the churning of the tide, she is in no danger of getting splashed by the waves. Giles can she see is tense, her shoulders held stiffly. She's wearing a tanktop along with her sweats, and despite her Slayer metabolism, he can tell that she is chilled. Taking off his jacket, he gently drapes it over her shoulders and sits down beside her.

"Thank you," she murmurs over the surf and pulls the jacket more securely around her. She offers no further conversation so he sits quietly next to her, content to wait in her company until she has something to say… if she's willing to share it with him, of course. It remains to be seen if their fractured relationship is on the mend, and he's afraid to try and rush it, so he allows her to take the reins and simply follows her lead.

"You know," she says after a while, her attention still focussed on the tides. "I've spent the last week thinking about how it would be nice to get away from it all. Take Dawn, maybe Willow and Xander if they are amenable, and follow you to England if that's where you're headed. I just need… a change of scenery. California-" She leaves her thought in the air as she lets out a frustrated sigh. "I know we're not supposed to be thinking about the future right now," she continues, "we're just supposed to relax and grieve and bond with one another or whatever… but we can't stay here forever."

"But we can stay for a while," Giles offers.

"Are you planning on going home to England?"

"Eventually," he replies and she nods.

"That call..." she starts before swallowing a lump in her throat. "It was from my dad," she announces as she turns to face him for the first time, and he can't help the look of shock on his face.

"How did he…?" Giles didn't think he could be more surprised. Hank Summers had been absent in his daughters' lives since before Buffy's eighteenth birthday.

"I left my contact information with the Red Cross, just in case someone needed to find me. Xander and Willow did too, but Wil had gotten ahold of her parents to let them know she was safe. Xander, of course…"

"Yes," he agrees quickly.

Xander hadn't been on speaking terms with his parents since the wedding disaster, but he had tried to convince them to leave Sunnydale when the mass exodus began. Unfortunately, they hadn't listened and were listed as missing and presumed dead.

"Harsh," Buffy adds before looking away again.

"So, what did your father want?" Giles asks with anger and incredulty before his eyes widen as he realizes the bitterness of his tone and what effect might have on Buffy. "I'm sorry," he apologizes. "That was unforgivably rude."

She shrugs. "You're right, though. After making a fuss about the _geologic event_ ," she continues, placing air quotes around the term her father used to describe the destruction of Sunnydale, "he apologized for not being around or available. Work had sent him to Barcelona for two years and then to Geneva for another. He returned to LA about eight months ago."

Giles remains silent. There is nothing he can say that would place Hank in a positive light, and his anger towards the man for abandoning his daughters is still very raw. Buffy and Dawn deserved better. They _deserve_ better.

"But now that he is home for good, he wants to focus on what's really important and he says that the fact that he could've lost us sort of brought things into perspective for him."

"He did lose you," Giles states bitterly before he can suppress the words.

"He didn't know-"

Giles bites down and grinds his teeth, but he's unable to let Hank have a pass. "He did, _however_ , know of your mother's death and he should have been there for you and Dawn! And what about the financial support? Where the _hell_ did that go?"

Buffy lets out an audible sigh. "I'm trying to remain calm about this. You're not helping."

"Sorry," he mumbles and leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees and steepling his fingers together. "So…"

"So…" Buffy turns away as her voice tightens with emotion. "He says he wants custody of Dawn."

Giles isn't sure what to say. He's shocked, livid, and suddenly very unsure of what that means going forward.

"I fought so hard for her," she manages as her eyes start to water.

"You did."

Buffy wipes the tears from her eyes and cheeks, angry at the display of emotion. "And now… after everything… I can't…" She quickly stands up, dropping his jacket in the sand next to him in the process, and walks to the water's edge. Her body language is one of defeat and Giles stands up and joins her, though he isn't sure what else to do other than to place his hand on her shoulder.

"Why now?" Her voice breaks and she takes as deep a breath as she can as her body visibly shakes. Whether it is from anger or from being chilled or both, he's not sure, but she brushes his hand from her shoulder and heads back towards where they'd been sitting, before turning back towards him, her eyes pleading with his. "Why? It's been five years, Giles, _five_ years!" she sobs. "I _hate_ that he could do this!"

"Oh my dearest Buffy!" Giles bites back the anger before rushing towards her and pulling her into a hug. She immediately wraps her arms around his torso as she starts to cry into his chest and he gently lowers them down to sit in the sand.

He shifts his body to hold her closer and whether she realizes it or not, she moves so that she is fully cradled within his embrace, her head tucked beneath his chin. He strokes her hair and offers her quiet comfort as she continues to let the tears flow. He's not sure how long they stay there wrapped up in each others arms, but he's nearly dozed off when she hiccups and turns her head to the other side. The winds have died down a little, but the surf still angrily beats against the sand and the clouds that have rolled in overhead are heavy and dark. He expects rain overnight and possibly some thunder and lightning, but for the moment they are safe.

"Your shirt's wet," she states with a watery laugh.

He backs away a little and looks down at his light blue henley. "It will dry."

"God, just when things are looking… I don't know… slightly positive for the future, something else has to come along and remind me that I'm not allowed to be happy, even for a moment… and this one isn't even demon related!" Buffy complains bitterly.

Giles doesn't know how to respond. His Slayer's life has been a constant struggle between balancing a normal life and her supernatural calling and the scales constantly tip in the wrong direction. He's hoping that with this last apocalypse she will find happiness and a normal life, that others will take up the Slayer duties and that she can retire.

"Now I have to sit down and tell Dawn about this. See if she wants to go live with him."

"Have you spoken with her at all about what she wants to do? What her expectations are for the future?"

Blowing out a frustrated breath to move an errant strand of hair from her eyes, Buffy looks away and responds, "No. I'm a terrible sister and friend, I haven't spoken to anyone about anything really… just what the plans for the day are or what we're making for dinner and who is responsible for it that night. The weather seems like mostly a safe topic, although there is a storm coming in. We might want to batten down the hatches when we head back up."

She's rambling and Giles places his fingers beneath her chin in an attempt to get her attention. "Look at me, Buffy." His voice is gentle and filled with concern. When her dark green eyes finally meet his, he lowers his hand and says, "You are not a terrible sister or a terrible friend. Sometimes we need to take care of ourselves first before we can take care of others. Self care is important and you've… you've been asked to do more than your fair share for eight long years. No one begrudges you the time you are taking. Everyone else is taking that time too."

"Where was this speech when I could've used it two years ago?"

"Admittedly, I was… woefully ignorant of these things back then, having grown up in a household where repression and avoidance and soldiering on were ways of dealing with depression and post traumatic stress. I cannot tell you how much I regret my actions following your resurrection."

"Don't think you own the market in repression and avoidance and soldiering on, I man a pretty large stall there myself and there's a special 10% discount after every apocalypse," she quips and he gives her a small understanding smile. "But I know how you feel about that time, Giles, and we both could've done better with the communicating of things. So, water, bridge."

"Thank you." It's simple and heartfelt and he feels a thousand times lighter. The guilt still wakes him up in the middle of the night, even though they'd come to terms with that particular nightmare in their relationship in the Magic Box's training room during Willow's apocalypse.

There's a comfortable silence between them and Buffy leans into him once more. He obligingly put his arms around her and watches the waves crash onto the shore.

"Dad wants to meet Dawn and me for lunch," she informs him after a while. "I figured I would talk to them separately, see how things go. I'm meeting him for coffee at a town halfway between us. I'm not entertaining the idea of a family reunion until I get the 411 on why he's been AWOL since my senior year in high school."

"I think that's wise."

Buffy gives Giles a heartfelt hug that he returns with equal zeal. "Thanks for coming out here. It really means a lot. The others…" she trails off a moment and he can tell she's searching for an explanation. "They aren't… us," she finishes.

It's not exactly what he is expecting, after all, his role as confidant in her life ended the night she died three apocalypses ago.

"I am glad I could be here for you," he replies sincerely, his eyes meeting hers. It's a bit too intimate, considering she's sitting within his embrace. He gives her a quick smile before looking up at the storm clouds accumulating overhead. "It's late. We should get back and batten down those hatches."

Buffy stands up on slightly wobbly legs since they'd been stuck in the same position for god knows how long and stomps around to bring feeling back in her legs before extending a hand to Giles. He takes it out of politeness, and the fact that his calves and feet have fallen asleep and might give out on him if he tries to stand on his own. As the winds start to pick up, they walk back to the house, side by side, his hand still in hers, in silent companionship as they try to stay ahead of the coming storm.


End file.
